Calendar and Task Apps continued

We’ve been talking a lot about calendars and task-apps. I want to briefly go over concepts of bringing both the calendar and your task app together, through means of productivity and organization. If you’re already groaning at the complexity, just relax. It’s not tough, I promise. All you need to do is a little bit of prep work that makes productivity so much simpler. For instance, one organization concept I’ve been interested in recently is the Bullet Journal More or less, the Bullet Journal is a technique designed to keeping your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks laid out in a row. When you go to record your tasks, it’s as simple as going down a list of bullet points. It’s a great concept that’s effective for those that prefer their tasks formatted using lists. After all, who has time to read a block paragraph on their upcoming day? Bullet Journal is just an example of organizing your daily routine. One of which I’m sure any individual could alter to fit their own needs.

If you’re asking yourself where all of this fits into task apps, I think the intention is clear. Task apps and calendar apps, as we’ve discussed, can only take you so far. You’ve got to work to meet the apps halfway. Some apps include productivity models similar to Bullet Journal and if those work for you, then great. Others like to see their work in front of them, written out and not on the same format as their regular work (i.e. printed vs. digital.)

Check out the video on Bulletjournal.com and ask whether this method, or one of a similar idea, is what will bring you to that next level of productivity. I, for one, really like the idea of rapid entry. It takes a little extra effort, but ultimately, it helps you keep all of your work in front of you, where you need it.

Try not to think of prep work as a hassle, because there is a lot of prep work involved in journaling your tasks. But the payoff is worth it, in the end. Perhaps journaling your tasks isn’t necessary for your needs. But if you’re struggling to get things together in your work or personal life (or both!) it’s worth a shot. Don’t let it intimidate you. You can prepare your Bullet Journal, or your personal version of one, in bed while watching TV in the background. (Or Netflix, as is the trend.) Or you could put on some music or listen to the audio recording of that board meeting you missed but your cubicle-mate recorded it for you. Whatever it takes, right?